Iconic restaurants never die. One of them is Jamin, which I once had the chance to visit while attending cooking school in Paris. At the time, Joel Robuchon’s Jamin was recognized as one of the best restaurant in the world, and one of the most feared kitchen to enter. I remember some dishes from this short visit like a chicken liver mousse with chicken consommé custard, I remember crisp rouget fillets were served with crispy basil and tomato concassé, pigeon cooked with foie-gras, and of course the world’s best mashed potatoes. I remember the atmosphere of doom and genius in the kitchen, also. A langoustine wrapped in a spaghetti ‘turban’ and white truffles was so incredible to look at that I took a mental picture that I kept until now.

Later that same year, Robuchon announced his retirement and closed Jamin, disappeared for a few years before going through a culinary “rebirth” with his Atelier franchise that’s now famous all around the world. Do you remember when we got to meet him at L’atelier in New York? It’s still restaurant Jamin, to this day, that’s remembered by many as one of the cornerstone to modern dining for its incredible precision.

I was cleaning my kitchen tool box the other day and came across some individual savarin mold. The same kind used to build the spaghetti turbans. Once neatly lined with cooked spaghetti and chilled, the molds are filled with langoustines and a shellfish mousse, and gently steamed. I updated the recipe a little and made a shellfish consommé with the langoustines heads and shells and a boost of umami with some grated bottarga. Mr Robuchon served his Turban de langoustines with a creamy langoustine sauce with hints of Pernod and fennel and white truffles. Can’t go wrong either way.

Turbans of Langoustines with Shellfish Consommé & Bottarga

Serves 6

For the turbans of langoustines:

butter, softened

4 ounces spaghetti

12 langoustines, shelled (reserve heads and shells)

salt

espelette pepper

1/3 cup heavy cream

For the langoustine consommé:

4 tablespoons olive oil

langoustine heads and shells

2 shallots, sliced

1 small carrot, peeled and sliced

1 1-inch piece of ginger, peeled & sliced

1 clove garlic

1/4 cup sake

2 tablespoons soy sauce, or to taste

1 tablespoon mirin, or to taste

2 egg whites

To finish:

micro green

grated bottarga

For the turbans of langoustines:

Take a single strand of spaghetti. Begin at the bottom of the mold, tightly wind the spaghetti around the center tube, take another strand of spaghetti and continue working your way to the top. Then begin again at the bottom and work in the other direction winding the spaghetti strands toward the top of the outer edge. Repeat until each mold is lined with a single concentric layer of spaghetti. Chill the lined molds in the refrigerator.

Shell the langoustine tails and remove the vein. Place 6 of the langoustines in the bowl of a food processor and season with salt and espelette pepper. Add the heavy cream and process to a smooth and fluffy paste. Keep the mixture cold if not using right away. Split the 6 remaining langoustines in half.

Fill the prepared savarin molds with the langoustine mousse and tuck two halves of the remaining langoustines in the mousse, top with more mousse and smooth the top.

Prepare a steamer and set over medium-low heat.

For the consommé:

In a medium pot, heat the olive oil and add the heads and shells from the langoustines, a pinch of salt and roast for 10 minutes, crushing the shells with a rolling pin. Add the shallots, carrot, ginger and garlic and cook until softened, 2 or 3 minutes more. Deglaze with sake and bring to a boil to burn the alcohol. Add water to just cover the shells and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook for 30 minutes while skimming impurities rising to the surface. Add the soy sauce and mirin. Check and correct seasoning.

Strain through a thin strainer lined with a cheesecloth into a clean pot. Bring to a gentle simmer.

Beat the egg whites and add to the simmering langoustine broth. The egg whites will create a ‘raft’ on the surface and clarify the consommé. Strain the clear broth again through a strainer lined with cheesecloth.

To finish:

Place the spaghetti turbans in a single layer in the top of a steamer over medium-low heat and steam for 3 minutes. Unmold the langoustine turbans in 6 bowls and garnish the center with micro greens. Sprinkle with bottarga. Pour the langoustines consommé at the table.

Zen! i love your blog so much, do you think you could please fix your images for old posts? they are broken and i really would love to see your photo steps. thanks, and keep up the great work

http://chefpandita.com Yuri

Stunning as always. Nice to see espelette pepper used in your recipe, I wasn’t familiar with it till last year again, wow. Too pretty to eat!

Anonymous

Thank you!

zenchef

Thank you, Petahhhh!

Anonymous

Oh, a zenfan! I will fix them. To make a long story short those photos were hosted on a different server and I deleted them by mistake. Now I have some updating to do. Ouch. Thank you!

Anonymous

Thanks, Yuri. I went to my first cooking school near the town of Espelette so I should use it even more!

marebear

I’m so envious of your talents. As a young cook, I look at your blog completely inspired. You are a big help to get us cooks moving forward. So innovative, passionate, and interesting. I wish you posted more recipes than I check your blog, and you post a lot of recipes. Good work.

shirley@kokken69

Wow, I am so fascinated by this! Is it easy to twirl the spaghetti in the mold, wouldn’t it slip off easily? … I don’t think I will be able to find Langoustines here… think I will substitute with prawns…

Yue Cheong

splendid as always! very inspiring

zenfan

thank you so much zen, sorry for the trouble. but your blog is really my favorite food blog EVER you are gifted.

PS. have you thought of competing on top chef?

Anonymous

It’s people like you that motivates me to keep going. I plan on improving the blog and possibly write a cookbook soon. Thank you for the support!

Anonymous

Thank you, Yue!

Anonymous

It’s easier than it looks! Just remember, butter is your friend

Anonymous

No trouble at all. I need to go back and fix those broken links and update the photography on those old posts. Thank you very much!

A lot of people have asked me about competing on top chef. I usually answer I don’t have tattoos, spikey hair or a woodcutter beard, so they wouldn’t pick me anyway.

http://pickyin.blogspot.com Chang Pick Yin

I like how you remember the humble mash from Jamin aside all the other posher stuffs. Now I also know why you can’t get the turban any higher!

http://www.mirauncut.com/ Mirauncut

It took me a second to figure out what this was, individual strands of spaghetti! A piece of art.

http://www.tastewiththeeyes.com/ Lori Lynn

We had a most incredible meal at Joel Robuchon in Vegas. This presentation is stunning. Thanks for the tutorial on how to create it. Must have tasted as heavenly as it looks.
LL

Michelle

you are amazing.

http://www.ouichefnetwork.com Oui, Chef

I am not worthy to even read this post, let alone try to compose this dish myself. What a beautiful, beautiful thing…a work of pure precision!

It could be done in large savarin molds also to serve a bunch of people. Impressive!

http://www.unintentionalsteam.blogspot.com Chris Chang

I really had to stop scrolling down on your blog because I had no idea what this was. Now I know! You are amazing as others have said!

I really really love your blog! You were the first blog I actually started following regularly about a year ago, but I never thought to comment [I don't know why] until now. Thanks for the inspiration as always!

Francine Godoy

Congrats to your amazing blog! I love to search at your blog, and really appreciate how your recipes are good to be followed! Really thankfull for that! I LOVE to cook, work on that and find your blog really a source of ideas, inspirations and a guide! Thanks and congrats, again! All the best and keep going, we are here to keep admiring your work!

http://www.acookblog.com/ Peter

I’m going out looking for a savarin mold or four. Beautiful.

Anonymous

Thanks Chris! Your comment, right there, is what motivates me!

Anonymous

Thank you so much, Francine. I’m glad you’re finding it inspiring. I have no choice but keep on going!

Markhousman

I have made timbales with pasta before, they were no where near as elegant as your turbans

Frank

Color me impressed! The skill it must take to make these come out with such perfection… Incredible!